Oktoberfest Stoup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into pats
• 3 knockwurst, diced into 1 inch cubes (or substitute 3 extra brats)
• 3 bratwursts, diced into 1 inch cubes
• 1 red onion, quartered and thinly sliced
• 2 lbs red cabbage, quartered and shredded
• 1 teaspoon caraway seed
• salt and pepper

• 1 (12 ounce) bottle dark beer or beef broth
• 1 quart veal stock or beef stock or vegetable broth or chicken stock
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
• 1 fresh bay leaf or dried bay leaf
• 3 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 2 red delicious apples or golden delicious apples, peeled and diced
• 1/2 lemon, juice of

Directions

1. 1

   Heat a big soup pot over medium-high heat. Add 1 table­spoon of the vegetable oil and half the butter.

2. 2

   When the butter melts into the oil, add the cubed wursts and brown them on all sides, 5 minutes. Remove the browned sausages and add the remaining tablespoon each of oil and butter.

3. 3

   When the butter melts into the oil, add the onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add the cabbage and car­away, season with salt and pepper, and stir. Cook the cab­bage for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

4. 4

   Add the beer and cook down 1 minute. Add the stock, tomato sauce, Worcestershire, and bay leaf and stir to combine. Add the wursts back to the pot. Cover the pot and bring the soup up to a boil, 2 or 3 minutes.

5. 5

   Remove the lid and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes longer, until the cabbage is tender. Remove the bay leaf.

6. 6

   Combine the parsley, apple, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Ladle the soup into shallow bowls and top with generous spoonfuls of the flavored apples to stir into the soup as you eat it.